Red and Purple
by Reid Phantom
Summary: Waking up in pain sucks. Waking up in pain after being spat out of a destabilizing wormhole to find out you had no means of contacting your team was worse. Waking up in pain, on top of being unable to contact your team and going outside to survey the area only to discover the planet you are on is inhabited by the enemy, is hell! ((Part 1 of Kayiv))
1. On the Run

_I wish that I could say that there's no better place than home._

 _But home's a place that I have never known._

 _~ "On the Run" from_ Steven Universe

* * *

Waking up in pain sucks. Waking up in pain after being spat out of a destabilizing wormhole to find out you had no means of contacting your team was worse. Waking up with your entire body throbbing, your head feeling like someone had taken a drill to it, and your skin itching like crazy, on top of being unable to contact your team and going outside to survey the area only to discover the planet you are on is inhabited by the enemy, is _hell_!

Keith pulled back from the rural (or as rural as a civilization with technology millennia ahead of Earth's could be) village he had been spying on in hopes of finding peaceful life. He was glad he'd changed into the clothes Hunk had stuck in his lion as part of the yellow paladin's _emergency preparedness kit_. The black jacket, jeans, and boots he had pulled on over his under armor were a lot stealthier in the night than his bright red and white, glowing paladin armor.

As he quickly ducked behind a rock, he made a note to talk to Allura or Pidge about making a stealth version of their paladin armor. He also made a note about not moving too quickly.

Keith groaned into his hands as the world around him tilted and spun. He pinched his eyes closed, hoping that would relieve some of the nauseating effects of the vertigo. That crash must have done more than Keith thought.

"Who's there?"

Keith jerked his head to the side, ignoring the renewed bout of vertigo the action caused, to see a Galra approaching him. He stumbled to his feet, but was still too disoriented and soon found himself pinned. The red paladin braced himself for a fight, hand inching towards the blade hooked to the back of his belt.

However, the Galra just looked him over before scoffing, "You're just a boy." He let Keith go and stepped back. He fingered the dagger at his hip, but otherwise didn't come off as aggressive which was really confusing the disoriented paladin. "Who are you? What are you doing here? I don't recognize you so you're not from anywhere around here."

Keith tried to come up with something - _anything_ \- to say, but his head was pounding and the world was spinning and he honestly had no idea what was going on.

The Galra frowned at his silence and grabbed his chin to pull Keith closer. He frowned at whatever he found and sighed. "Great. Alright, kid, come with me." He didn't give Keith a chance to even register his words before he grabbed the teen's arm and began dragging him towards the village.

The red paladin didn't try to take in anything about the village as he was marched through it and instead focused on not face planting in front of a massive group of Team Voltron's mortal enemies.

The Galra that had found him finally paused outside of a building and banged on the door. "Styxanne! Open up you-"

"Jezpor, you dwylip, if you finish that sentence I'll- Oh!" The Galra who had opened the door paused as she caught sight of Keith. She took a moment to take him in so he did the same.

She was taller than him, by a lot. She was probably a bit shorter than Allura had been when she disguised herself as a Galra. If he had to estimate, the red paladin would have placed her at around Shiro's age, maybe a bit older. Although, he honestly didn't know anything about how the Galra aged so he could have been way off. She had the usual lilac skin and there were silver swirling designs around her eyes that could have been markings, but also could have just been the Galra version of makeup. Keith couldn't tell. Her long fuchsia hair was braided and draped over her shoulders like a scarf.

She was also giving him a look that he could only describe as being similar to the look a group of his female middle school classmates had given the cat they had found behind their classroom.

"He's so tiny," she hummed and Keith blushed. No, Galra were just _huge_ compared to humans. "Who is he?"

"No clue. Found him while on patrol," the male Galra - Jezpor? - replied.

The female - Styxanne? - eyed Keith for a second longer before turning a glare on Jezpor. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing, he was like this when I found him!"

Styxanne huffed and took Keith's arm. "Useless."

"Hey, I brought him straight to you!"

The female Galra ignored him and shut the door in his face. She led Keith through some sort of sitting area to a small room off to the side that held an odd metal table connected to a console and some cabinets. "Lie here, Prycoso," she said, helping him up onto the table.

Keith didn't want to. He wanted to escape and somehow find his team and put this whole thing behind him. At the very least, he wanted to find out why the Galra were acting weird, but then he was lying down and the fatigue that he had been ignoring since he woke up because he had more important things to do was overwhelming him and the stupid metal table-bed was actually a lot more comfortable than it looked and the cold of the metal felt great on his pounding head when he tilted his head so that the side of his face was pressed against it and he suddenly couldn't remember why he shouldn't be lying down and resting.

A purple light flickered over Keith. "Alright now what's- Oh wait, no! Don't go to sleep, Prycoso. Did you hear me? Stay…"

* * *

 _Running._

 _Laughter like chimes._

" _Come on, my little warrior. Time to go."_

" _Catch me, Mama!"_

* * *

Keith sighed as his eyes fluttered open. He slowly sat up and looked around. The room he was in was about the same size as the one he had in the Castle of Lions if not a tad bigger. There wasn't much in it: a couple crates stacked next to the door, a mirror on the wall on the other side of the door, a window that was covered by some shutters-like device that kept out most of the light, the bed he was on, and a table a short ways next to it with a glass of some sort of clear liquid on it (Keith knew better than to automatically assume it was water after spending the last however many weeks or whatever surrounded by aliens and their weird food and drinks).

The red paladin shifted around so that his feet hung off the bed. He reached out for the glass, fully prepared to down whatever horrible concoction might be inside it if it meant alleviating his dry throat and mouth. At least he could be pretty sure that it wouldn't kill him. If the Galra wanted him dead, they had plenty of ways to do it besides poison.

His fingers had just brushed the glass when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and his breath caught in his throat. Shakily, he got to his feet. He walked up to the mirror. He reached out his hand, then flinched away when the Galra in the glass did the same. He brought his hand up to pull a lock of his hair forward so he could see it.

The lock was a paler version of his eye color. Except not, because apparently his eyes were now a bright yellow and ringed by swooping blue markings.

Keith stumbled back and collapsed onto the bed. What- How- But-

" _You're just a boy."_

" _He's so tiny."_

This- This is why that Galra hadn't attacked him. Why he'd brought him to the female Galra, who Keith was guessing was some sort of doctor. They thought he was a Galra.

He _looked_ like he was a Galra.

" _You fight like a Galra soldier."_

The door slid open and Keith looked up to see Styxanne walking in.

"Oh, you're awake! I was getting worried there. You've been sleeping for almost three days. You took quite a hit to the head. I was worried you weren't going to wake up again."

 _Three days_! He didn't have three days to be lying around! What's going on with the others? Was Red okay? Had she healed from the damage she had taken? Had she been discovered?

"Prycoso?"

Keith blinked and took a shaky breath. "I- Uh- Yeah, sorry. I guess I'm not quite awake yet."

Styxanne frowned. She brushed her hand over a pad next to the shutters and they opened. Keith raised a hand to block the bright light and suddenly Styxanne was right in front of him, grabbing his chin.

"Uh…"

"Well, you certainly seem better than you were before. What happened to you? How did you get here?"

"Oh, uh, I crashed my… ship. I was walking around trying to find civilization when I came upon your village."

"Well you're lucky you found us when you did. My name is Styxanne, though you can call me Xan. Only that dwylip Jezpor refers to me by my full name."

Names, right. Keith supposed a name like "Keith" isn't usual for Galras considering the names he knew. But what would a good Galra name even be? "Oh, uh… I'm Kayiv."

Wow. That was dumb. It barely sounded any different than Keith.

So why did it sound right?

"Kayiv? I like it, Prycoso," Xan hummed, grabbing the glass off the table and holding it out to him. As he drank, she said, "I want to run another scan on you, but then we can get some food in you. Such a tiny little thing."

The last part was mumbled to herself, though Keith heard it just fine. He blushed and sputtered into his (thankfully) water. "R-right. Thank you."

* * *

"He's still injured, Jezpor. He woke up yesterday after being unconscious for nearly three days. I'm not going to just toss him out."

Keith paused, his ears twitching. He moved closer to the door and listened in. It seemed his host was back.

"I'm not saying you should, I just think you should be more careful. You've heard the rumors. We have no idea who that guy is. He just showed up out of nowhere."

"His ship crashed here."

"Why was he flying around here? And all on his own?"

"I was on my way to meet with my team."

Jezpor and Xan looked up at him as he left his room, adjusting the grey jacket Xan had given him. He was also wearing a borrowed black shirt, dark grey pants, and a violet belt alongside his own boots. His own spare clothes were tucked into a bag alongside his hidden paladin under armor.

"Your team?" Jezpor asked with narrowed eyes.

"We were supposed to meet up to work on our skills. We are hoping to join the army."

"Really?" Xan asked, eyes beaming. "That sounds incredible!"

"Yeah," Keith said.

Jezpor stood up from the table he and Xan had been sitting at. "Kayiz, right?"

"Kayiv, actually."

"Of course, sorry."

Keith felt his ear twitch. "No problem."

"So you crashed? Where's your ship?"

"I wouldn't know. I was pretty out of it by the time you found me. I'm not sure how long I had been walking, let alone in what direction. I was hoping to head out and search for it once I'm well enough."

"Which is _not_ right now," Xan hissed.

Keith held his hands up in surrender.

"I need to head out for patrol. We're not done talking about this Styxanne," Jezpor said, heading towards the door.

"Yes, we are," the female Galra growled. She followed him and slammed her hand on the door controls as soon as he was out. "Ugh! That- That- Ugh!"

"So Jezpor, is he your-"

Xan snorted. "He wishes!"

"I was going to ask if he was related to you. Like your brother or something."

"No, thank the stars. He's just in charge of the patrols so he feels the need to involve himself in _everyone's_ business and I'm the only one that tells him off for it." Xan shook her head, then turned to Keith. She tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing, Prycoso?"

"I just thought I'd go out for a little while." At Xan's narrowed gaze, he added, "Not far. Just around the village. Get some fresh air."

"Well… I suppose. Just as long as you stay close and you come straight back if you're feeling even a little off."

"Of course." Keith quickly went to the door before she could change her mind. "Be back soon."

"Careful!" she managed to say before the door closed.

Keith sighed in relief. He had forgotten how claustrophobic being stuck in someone's house and watched over twenty-four-seven could be. Not quite as bad as the Garrison, but still annoying. At least with the Castle of Lions he could slip off to training or some deserted part of the ship whenever he needed to be alone.

Keith looked around as he walked through the village. He passed by an outdoor marketplace, but continued on instead of going in. A few of Galra glanced over at him as he walked about, though none seemed hostile. Mostly they just seemed confused or curious. Keith decided to just try and ignore them. He did keep an ear out for gossip or rumors though, especially anything concerning the words Voltron or paladins.

About an hour after heading out, Keith found himself pausing outside a building as he heard music floating out an open door. He peaked inside to see that the place was a sort of tavern. The music was coming from the corner where a female Galra was playing what appeared to be a piano.

Keith slipped inside and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes. The music was relaxing. It also felt so familiar.

" _What would you like me to play now, Kayiv?"_

Keith jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Xan looking at him with worry.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just listening to the music." He turned back to the musician and she followed his gaze.

"Ah yes, the xiaziovax. Galra's greatest invention. If you're into that kind of stuff, I mean."

"Yeah." Keith noticed Xan eyeing him. "What?"

"Nothing. I just never would have pictured you as the artsy type."

"My mother used to play the- used to play it for me when I was little."

"Ah!" A moment's pause. "Do you know how to play?"

"Me? I uh…" He had learned how to play (the piano at least) in school, mostly because music had been mandatory in most of the elementary schools he had attended and he had the vaguest memories of his mother playing the piano for him, but the last time he had placed his hands anywhere near a piano had been when he was… eleven? It was before the anti-space travel nuts so he couldn't have been more than twelve. "I used to, but that was a long time ago."

Xan's face lit up. She grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards the alien instrument.

"Xan, wait, hold on!"

"No, I want to hear you play! No getting out of it!"

"Seriously, Xan, it's been a really long time." Not to mention he's not even sure if the instrument even played like a piano. "I'll probably just make a fool of myself."

"Then it will be interesting either way!"

Keith glared at the female Galra and his ears pressed against his head.

"Wysic! Do me a favor and let my new friend Kayiv have a go at the xiaziovax!"

The Galra at the piano-like instrument looked up at the two and raised her eyebrow.

"Come on, Wysic! It'll be interesting, I swear!"

Keith had to hold back a growl.

"Fine," the musician sighed. "I need a break anyways. You owe me though, Xan."

"Uh-huh, sure, whatever!"

Wysic sent the two a look, then stood up and headed to the bar. Keith was unceremoniously shoved onto the bench.

"Well, go on then!"

Keith sighed and situated himself better at the keys. He ran through a simple scale just to get a feel for where and what all the notes were. From what he could tell, the alien version was missing some of the lower notes and gained a bunch of extra higher ones. The red paladin peaked up over the instrument and flinched as he realized everyone in the tavern was staring at him.

 _Great._ Keith let out a shaky breath and quickly chose a song. He mentally adjusted the scale to cover for the lost low notes and began to play.

As he played, he let the music take over. He allowed himself to forget everything. Forget about his lost teammates. Forget about being surrounded by the enemy. Forget about currently being the enemy. All he thought about was the music. He even began to hum the lyrics to the song under his breath.

As the song came to an end, he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

" _Yes, Kayiv, just like that!"_

Keith pulled his hands away from the keys and he looked up. For just a second, he saw her.

 _Dark lilac skin with jagged blue designs over her eyes. Silver-purple hair that was longer on her left than her right and loosely flowing. Sunny yellow eyes that smiled down at him._

"Kayiv?"

Keith snapped back to the present. He could hear the crowd applauding and Xan was standing over him, her smile slowly fading to worry.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said that was great. I've never heard that song before. It was amazing! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks. I think I need to go lay down now."

Xan nodded and waved to Wysic before leading him out and back to her home. The moment he was left alone, Keith collapsed on the bed.

 _What was that?_


	2. Springsteen

_Funny how a melody sounds like a memory_

 _~ "Springsteen" by Eric Church_

* * *

 _Who are you?_

Keith curled up tighter in the booth he was tucked into, hidden in a far corner of the tavern. He was listening to the music being played as he thought about the vision that had been plaguing him for the past two days.

 _Her hands danced over the keys as she smiled down at him._

Keith groaned and buried his face into his arms.

The keys of what though? A piano or a xiaziovax? And why did she look like a Galra? _Who was she_?

"Hey, kid." Keith suddenly realized the music had ended without him noticing and he looked up to see the musician - What did Xan say her name was? - standing over him with a glass of something bright pink and a smirk. "You even old enough to be in here without a watcher?"

The red paladin glared up at her and opened his mouth, only to blank. "Uh, actually, I have no idea."

The female Galra burst out laughing and dropped down to sit across from him. "Well, at least you're honest. Just stay away from the bar, 'kay. I don't need Jezpor coming after my neck. Or worse, Xan."

"No problem."

"Name's Wysic by the way, runt."

"Kayiv, and I'm not a runt."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, but you've gotta be, what, thirteen?"

"Sixteen," Keith growled and his ears pressed into his head as Wysic started laughing again.

"Ujryz! You _are_ short!"

Keith stood up and she grabbed his arm. "Don't be weak, I'm just teasing. Sit. What're you doing in here, anyways?"

Keith debated for a second before dropping down. He shrugged and said, "Xan really won't let me do anything but lay around when I'm at her place so I figured I'd come listen to the music. It, uh, reminds me of my mom. She used to play for me." The paladin blushed. Did the Galra even care about that stuff?

"Is she the one who taught you to play?"

"No, well, she taught me a few things, I think, but she died when I was really young, so…"

"Ujryz, that claws. I wouldn't let Xan here that if I was you, though. She may just keep you. She has this weird fascination with Prycosos."

"What does Prycoso mean?" Keith asked before he could help himself.

Wysic raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what it means?"

"I-I do. I've just… never heard it in that context." Keith lied.

Thankfully, she seemed to accept the explanation. "I'll bet," she snorted. "It means the same thing you're probably thinking, something small and unthreatening, Xan has just turned it into a term of endearment. I'm guessing you're used to it being a derogatory comment."

"Yeah," Keith growled. Great, Xan's been basically referring to him by the Galran equivalent of _cute, widdle thing_.

"Anyways, that song you played, what is it? I've never heard it before."

"Oh, uh, it's just something I learned awhile back. I can't remember the name."

"Can you teach it to me?" Keith looked up at Wysic, shocked, and she shrugged. "Don't get a lot of new music around here. And I _am_ letting you hide out in here, runt."

"Yeah, sure, I guess. I'm not that good of a teacher though."

"That's fine. I'm a _really_ good student," Wysic joked. She tipped back the rest of her drink and then stood up. "Well, come on!"

"Now?"

Keith idly wondered if Galra could even roll their eyes as Wysic gave him a look. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the booth. "Come on, it's not like you're doing anything."

Once the two were sitting at the instrument, Keith put his hand on the keys and played the first few notes. "So, it starts like-"

"You know you don't have to hit the buttons so hard right? This is a delicate piece of equipment."

" _Light fingers, Kayiv." Laughter._

Keith swallowed and tried to stop the shaking in his hands. "R-right. Sorry."

* * *

A shadow fell over the window of Keith's room and he looked up from his dagger. There was some sort of robot flying in front it. He stood up walked over just as a second robot crashed into the first. He looked out the window to see a pair of kids outside with a set of controls, apparently controlling the little toy fighter bots. He leaned against the wall and watched the two go at it.

" _Can I get one, mama?"_

 _Laughter. "Maybe when you're a little older."_

"Xan said she's making food for us before I can steal you. What do you want?"

"Can we have boiled cragnins?" Keith blinked and looked over at the door. "Wait, what?"

Wysic snickered and waved her hand, turning away. "You sure you're not thirteen? Hey Xan, the runt wants boiled cragnins!"

Keith watched the musician go with a frown. _What are cragnins?_

* * *

" _Wake up, Kayiv."_

" _Mama?"_

" _Sh, come on. We need to go."_

…

" _Liva!"_

" _We're here!"_

" _Liva, they're coming! We need to move now."_

…

" _Kayiv, I love you so much!"_

…

" _Mama? Mama!"_

Keith jerked into a sitting position, panting heavily. His hand was over his mouth, a habit he'd picked up when he was six while staying with foster parents who were… Doctors? Dentists? Something along those lines.

They hadn't taken well to being woken up by Keith's nightmares.

 _Nightmares._

Keith closed his eyes, scrambling to remember anything about his nightmare. He could remember the woman from his visions - memories? - looking terrified about something and he knew he had heard a man's voice, but everything was fading away with every second.

The red paladin sighed and laid back. What was happening to him?


	3. Who Are You, Really?

" _Who, who are you really?/And where, where are you going?/I've got nothing left to prove/Cause I've got nothing left to lose/See me bare my teeth for you/Who, who are you?_ "

"Alright kid, you gotta teach me that one."

Keith looked over at Wysic, who was sitting on the end of the bench with some sort of glowing, radioactive-green drink, and gave a smirk. "We'll see."

The female Galra snorted and shoved him off the bench. "Watch it, runt. Don't forget that this is _my_ instrument you're playing."

Keith chuckled as he pulled himself up. "Thanks again for letting me play it."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get weak on me." She huffed and moved to the center of the bench. "I'd say you're not absolutely terrible, but then again, you never play _anything_ I recognize so you could be screwing up everything and I'd never know. Let's just say I find you amusing. Besides, I get to learn some new material. Now get out of my sight. Your face is annoying."

Keith chuckled and left the tavern. It'd been a week since he'd first played the xiaziovax and seen the memory of the Galra woman he was somehow positive was his mother. He had been spending the time split between recuperating, trying to convince Xan that he really was fine, and hanging around Wysic to play the instrument in hopes of stirring up something that could explain what was going on.

Although, if he was honest, everything was probably a lot clearer than he was trying to make it out to be. If he looked like a Galra, and was remembering his mother as one, then…

"- of Voltron? Here?"

Keith's ears flew to attention as he heard the conversation floating around the corner he had just been about to turn. Quickly, the red paladin relaxed and leaned against the nearby wall inconspicuously, doing his best to keep his ears still and relaxed as he eavesdropped on the conversation. Why did he have to be one of the types of Galra that had expressive ears?

"Yeah, you heard about how they attacked central command? Well one of the Druids managed to compromise their wormhole when they fled. I guess they think the paladins got split up because Zarkon's been sending out soldiers to check all the recorded wormhole activity. Apparently one opened up near here so they've been checking the local planets. This one's next on the lineup."

"Great," Keith heard one of the Galra groan. "When will they be here? My son's been talking nonstop about joining the army. Last thing I need is him trying to watch the soldiers and getting into trouble for interfering with their work."

"They're supposed to be here later tonight, I think. Anyways, how is-"

Keith turned away and left down a side street towards Xan's place.

He mentally cursed as he forced himself not to run or show any signs of distress. Galra soldiers were coming here for him! Except they wouldn't find him because he's pretty sure none of the Galra would think to search their own kind for paladins. They might find Red though. Red, who was all alone because Keith had abandoned her, too trapped in his own head. The image of Red sealed in her force field and trapped on a Galra ship flashed through his mind and sent shivers down his spine. The idea that that could happen to her again because of him made him feel sick.

 _Quiznak! Was her particle barrier even working!?_

"Xan?" the red paladin called out as he walked into his temporary shelter. He sighed in relief when he didn't receive a response. Without delay, he slid into his room and changed into his under armor. He then pulled his Galra clothing overtop and double checked his dagger before grabbing his bag and heading out the door.

"Where're you going?"

Keith froze. He turned to see Jezpor walking up the road. And here he was thinking he'd been doing such a good job of keeping away from the suspicious Galra over the past week. "Just heading out."

"Oh?" Jezpor eyed his bag and Keith adjusted the strap on his shoulder.

"Yeah, figured it was time I started looking around for my ship."

"Does Styxanne know about this?"

"Please, all she sees when she looks at me is her pathetic _Prycoso_. I'll never leave if it's up to her. I'm fine. I don't need her treating me weak," Keith growled, letting the Galra phrases he'd learned slip in. "What do you care, anyways? I thought you wanted me gone."

"True," Jezpor relented, though he was still eyeing Keith.

The red paladin took that as his cue to leave and thankfully exited the village without any more roadblocks. He initially started out in a semi-straight path towards Red (you couldn't exactly go straight in a rocky forest), but when he heard a sound coming from behind him, he allowed his path to drift to the right.

Approximately a half hour later, Keith's stalker was still behind him despite his subtle attempts at losing the tail. When a branch snapped behind him just as a clearing was coming into sight, Keith threw subtlety out the window.

"Who's there?" he growled, spinning to face the source of the sound. When no response came, he pulled out his dagger and approached the area.

"No need for that, kid," Jezpor said, stepping out from behind a rock.

"Why were you following me?"

"Just making sure you made it to your ship alright. Wouldn't want you getting lost out here."

"I'm fine. You can go."

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"Yes- No. I'll figure it out. Just get lost."

Jezpor's eyes narrowed.

 _Quiznak_! Keith forgot he said he couldn't remember where his ship was. He'd also used an Earth saying. "I mean, just head back to the village."

"You sure you're feeling okay, kid? Maybe we should get you back to Xan."

"I'm fine," Keith growled.

"I'm serious. We're heading back," Jezpor said, keeping his voice even as he walked up.

"No."

Jezpor tried to grab his arm and he jerked away. The next thing they knew, they were fighting, each trying to pin the other. The older Galra was strong, but unskilled. Without the concussion he'd been nursing the week before, Keith was easily able to take victory this time around.

He pinned Jezpor against a tree, his dagger at his throat.

"You're pretty good at fighting considering your age," Jezpor pointed out.

"Told you, I'm looking into joining the army."

Jezpor smirked. "I've been meaning to ask, what's a Druid doing trying to join the army?"

"Druid?" That was what Coran called the Galra he had fought at the Galactic Hub. The one that shot lightning. What did that have to do with him?

"Did you think I wouldn't know? You didn't even try to hide your markings."

His markings? "I got them from my mother."

Jezpor raised an eyebrow. "You really are a terrible liar. Either that, or you really must think I'm stupid. I was there when Styxanne was trained, I know that you only get your markings after being immersed in magic for years. You don't just inherit them."

Well _that_ was news to Keith. So his mother (if she really was a Galra) was a druid. And so is he. But how? He'd never even known magic was real before finding Blue. How could he have been _immersed in magic_ without knowing it? Unless… If he was a Galra, born a Galra, then something would have had to make him look human.

"You're one of _them_ aren't you?" Jezpor asked, regaining Keith's focus and clearly unaware he had lost it.

"Them?"

"The rebellion. Those idiot Galra who dare stand against Zarkon."

Rebellion? Keith wasn't expecting that. "There are Galra willing to stand against Zarkon?"

Jezpor snorted. "Everyone knows about the rebellion, kid. Don't bother trying to hide it."

Keith reached out to Red and he could feel her annoyance at being left alone, relief that he was alive, and concern at the situation he was in. He pulled at her, asking for her to come to him, if she could, and she reluctantly agreed. He could tell her reluctance was only fueled by her annoyance though. She clearly had healed enough for at least the short trip.

A rebellion, at least that explained the force field going down so that they could escape through the wormhole. "Not everyone. Voltron didn't know. Thanks for the info."

Keith punched the older Galra in the gut then slammed his head with the hilt of his blade, causing him to collapse. He turned and ran into the clearing. He reached the tree line just as Red landed in it's center.

"Time to go, kitty," Keith said as he dropped into his seat. "How are you feeling?"

As Red ran her diagnostics through his head (in a more basic sense then he was sure Green and Yellow could give Pidge and Hunk), Keith spotted Jezpor standing at the treeline, staring up at the lion in shock. _Wonder how long it will take for Zarkon to find out one of his own is piloting the Red Lion?_

" _You fight like a Galra soldier."_

 _Maybe he already knows._

"We can survive without communications for now. If everything else if well enough, we need to head out. There's a ship heading this way."

Keith felt Red's purr flow through him and they took off into the sky and out of the planet's atmosphere. They flew out of the solar system and tucked themselves away in an asteroid field so Red could rest and finish healing.

The red paladin used the downtime to strip out of the Galra clothes and suit up in his armor. He paused before pulling on his helmet, staring down at his reflection.

What was he going to do now? Find the others? They'd need him to form Voltron, but… He was a Galra. He was what they were fighting against. He was the same species as the people who destroyed Allura and Coran's entire solar system. The same species who stole Pidge's family from her. The same species that did _so much_ to Shiro. What would they do to him? Would they hate him? Would they take Red? Would they seal him in a cryo-pod like Sendak? Would they _kill him_?

Keith shook himself. No, they wouldn't kill him ( _Would they?_ ), but he couldn't tell them. It would just cause too many problems that they all didn't need right now. But he couldn't hide it, either. He was purple!

Keith groaned and dropped his head against his helmet. _What could he do?_

Red purred and he looked up to give her a thankful smile. He looked back at his helmet and his markings caught his eye.

Markings. Druid. Magic.

If something had made him look human before, couldn't he recreate that?

Keith's eyes widened as images flashed before his eyes. "Red?"

Red growled, letting him know her displeasure with him trying to hide himself from their pride, but also her willingness to help.

"Thank you."

Keith closed his eyes and focused. He thought of how he had looked before. He thought of his human skin and ears. He thought of his black hair and violet eyes.

Bones twinged and skin itched and a pressure settled over Keith that left him gasping. His eyes flickered open as he took in deep breaths. He looked down at his reflection. His hair still had a slight purple tint and his eyes were a little bright, but otherwise he looked human.

Normal.

Keithed laid back on the floor and sighed. He could feel the disguise covering him like a second skin, and even the small drain on his energy if he focused. Clearly it was something he wouldn't notice if he wore it long enough, like a new haircut, but for now it was annoyingly present.

"K- … -ou th-"

"What was that?" Keith asked, sitting up.

Red purred and Keith shot to his feet.

Communications were coming back online.

The red paladin dropped into his seat, pulling his helmet over his head. "Hello?"

A screen showing fuzz appeared on Red's dash. "-eith… Ke-"

"Allura?"

The screen slowly began to clear as Allura's voice became clearer. "Keith? Can… -ear me?"

"Allura? I'm here!"

"K- … Keith? Keith!" He smiled as a slightly blurry Allura came into view. "Oh yes! Finally! CORAN! Keith, can you hear me? The castle's picking you up. I'm trying to locate you now. CORAN!"

"Yep, we've got you. _Loud_ and clear."

"Sorry. We've been trying to find you all week."

"Red took a beating in the fight and crash. We both did. And there's quite a bit of Galra around here so we were a little more focused on flight capabilities and weapons than communications."

"Galra! Oh dear. CORAN!"

"I'm here, Princess."

"I've found Keith! I need you-"

"What!?"

Suddenly Allura's screen was crowded by not only Coran, but the other four paladins.

"Oh thank the stars."

"There you are, Mullet-head!"

"Keith, dude, finally!"

"What did you do to Red? I boosted the scanners and we still couldn't find you!"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? How's Red?"

Smiling, the red paladin relaxed for the first time since he'd awoken on the Galra-controlled planet. "I'm fine, Shiro. Red's healing and should be one hundred percent soon. The communications were down, Pidge. Shut up, Lance."

"We've got your location. I'm opening up a wormhole now."

Keith could worry about his apparent Galran ancestry later. For now, he was going home.

* * *

 **With this coming to a close, I'm not sure which path I want to take next (if I want to dig into how Keith came to be on Earth, come back to see how the gang reacted to the Galra revelation, or if I want to do another little funny side clip like Polymorphic before diving back into the serious stuff), so if you guys want to leave a comment with what you'd like to see next I'd be happy to listen.**


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